Humboldt, Worldview and Language

'Based on an excellent knowledge of the author, Underhill presents an enlightened version of the world view hypothesis in Humboldt and in linguistics, making an important contribution to a crucial issue in linguistic theory and in the history of ideas. ' Jurgen Trabant, Jacobs University Bremen 'James Underhill shows a great mastery concerning the general theory of language. It is extremely rare to find nowadays any thinker, either in linguistics or philosophy, whose thought continues the way Humboltd linked the word and the world. ' Henri Meschonnic, Paris VIII University With the loss of many of the world's languages, it has become urgent to question what is lost to humanity with their demise. It is frequently argued that a language engenders a "worldview", but what do we mean by this term. From linguists such as Sapir, Whorf and Chomsky to philosophers such as Heidegger and to sociologists such as Bourdieu, the idea that a language shapes the worldview of its linguistic community has been attributed to Wilhelm von Humboldt, the Prussian philologist and politician (1767-1835). But despite lavish praise, the dense, profound and thought-provoking ideas on thought and language of Humboldt remain largely unknown in the English-speaking world. This prolific thinker investigated Sanskrit, Kawi, the American Indian languages as well as most of the major European languages, and his findings led him to propose the most far-reaching exploration of the relation between our mode of perceiving and conceiving the world and the way we draw words and concepts into our minds in order to assimilate language and explore its possibilities. Underhill's short, concise and rigorously researched book, clarifies the main ideas and proposals of Humboldt's linguistic philosophy and demonstrates the way his ideas can be adopted and adapted by thinkers and linguists today. A detailed glossary of terms is provided in order to clarify key concepts and translate the German terms used by Humboldt. James W. Underhill is a Professor at Rouen University, France. He has worked as a professional translator of both French and Czech and has published articles on poetics, metaphor and translation.